Seizures

[Maureen B.]

Hello everyone!
I have a beautiful, lovable sheltie (aren't they all) named Ginger. She is 8 yrs old. About 1 1/2 yrs ago she started having seizures. We had just moved and I went to a local family owned pet store to get food and spoke to an employee whose dog is also prone to seizures. She told me that the food I was feeding Ginger (Innova-EVO red meat small bites) could be causing the seizures because it contains starch in lieu of grains and dogs can have problems digesting starch. (Ginger went grain free about 1 1/2 years before). So she recommended Wysong- Epigen which is grain free and starch free and is 60% protein. The seizures stopped. However, Ginger did not like the food. So I switched food (don't remember the name but it was of good quality) and within a month the seizures again. I immediately put Ginger back on the Wysong food adn the seizures stopped. This was about a year ago. My vet said the Wysong food is too high in protein and hard on the kidney's. She did blood and urine tests and all is fine but doesn't want to keep her on this food. One day, this spring, when I opened a new bag of the Wysong food, it was lighter in color and had a fish oil smell to it. Ginger gobbled it up and loves it. I asked the company if they changed their formula and they said no. Then around this time Ginger started having seizures again and I suspect it's the food. My vet said Ginger needed to go on meds otherwise the seizures will increase and I needed to change her food to one that contains less protein. The vet recommended Solid Gold Wolf King or Hill's Ideal Balance. I'm reluctant to switch to a lower protein food for fear of seizures and then having to increase Ginger's meds. Ginger has been on Phenobarbital 15 mg twice a day for a week. It's made her tired and she doesn't like going for a walk now and is sleeping more. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Tabitha]

I'm so sorry to hear about Ginger. She will be in my thoughts and prayer that she gets well soon.

If your vet recommends that you give her this food then I would get a small bag and try it. After all, the food your giving her now is making her have seizures. Again, I'm praying for a quick recovery for your baby girl.

 

[mellie]

Welcome and I am sorry Ginger has this problem. For some people with seizure disorder a high protein diet helps with the seizures...but not without a cost. Don't know if this is the case with canines. Maybe a home cooked diet or raw would work better for Ginger than a kibble. Don't want to tell you to go against your vets recommendations though but I understand about her being so sedated. I could not function on most of the anticonvulsants I tried. Might be one of the many ingredients in the foods that are causing them. If you are fixing your own meals you will know exactly what is in the food and see which foods she is sensitive too. Might be that the foods are slightly rancid and this could be the cause. Praying for no more seizures.

 

[Mally's Mom]

Ginger is in my prayers for restored health. (love the name Ginger for a sheltie)

ps Our Mally is 8 years old, too.

 

[susanmccain]

I'm sorry to hear about Ginger's problems. Hopefully you will be able to get things worked out so she can lead a healthy life. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[ClantyreSheltie]

With a dog with this kind of issue, I would go straight to a raw or homecooked diet. This way you control 100% what is in her diet. You can experiment and change and adapt as things go. Especially if you think the seizures are food related.

The protein thing has me skeptical, I am of the *opinion* that for otherwise healthy dogs, there is no such thing as to much protein *as long as it's animal based*. I think we do much more damage by lowering protein levels for no real good reason.

Lew Olson's book "Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs" is an excellent resource for all thing nutrition related. It also contains many, many pages of diets and recipes for all kinds of ailments.

 

[Ann]

My Pixie had seizures regularly as a puppy. In addition to a regimen of holistic medications prescribed by my vet, I took her off all chemical flea and tick products, limited the number of her vaccinations (we titer now before any vaccine is given) and finally, took her off food with chicken or turkey after reading a study that those meats can contribute to seizures in dogs who are prone to them.

I put Pixie on food with duck as the primary ingredient and since I did that, she has been seizure free for four years. She's 8 now, and has not had one since she was four. I feed Go Sensitivity and Shine, made by Petcurean. It has a lower protein and is an excellent food.

I hope Ginger's issues improve. Good luck!

 

[Maureen B.]

Ginger is in my prayers for restored health. (love the name Ginger for a sheltie)

ps Our Mally is 8 years old, too.

Thanks Mally's Mom for your prayers!

I'm so sorry to hear about Ginger. She will be in my thoughts and prayer that she gets well soon.

If your vet recommends that you give her this food then I would get a small bag and try it. After all, the food your giving her now is making her have seizures. Again, I'm praying for a quick recovery for your baby girl.

Thanks Tabitha for your prayers! I should have mentioned that Ginger has been only having about 2 seizures a month for the past 3 months. I feel lucky that it isn't more.

Welcome and I am sorry Ginger has this problem. For some people with seizure disorder a high protein diet helps with the seizures...but not without a cost. Don't know if this is the case with canines. Maybe a home cooked diet or raw would work better for Ginger than a kibble. Don't want to tell you to go against your vets recommendations though but I understand about her being so sedated. I could not function on most of the anticonvulsants I tried. Might be one of the many ingredients in the foods that are causing them. If you are fixing your own meals you will know exactly what is in the food and see which foods she is sensitive too. Might be that the foods are slightly rancid and this could be the cause. Praying for no more seizures.

I agree Mellie!

I'm sorry to hear about Ginger's problems. Hopefully you will be able to get things worked out so she can lead a healthy life. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

Thanks Susan!

With a dog with this kind of issue, I would go straight to a raw or homecooked diet. This way you control 100% what is in her diet. You can experiment and change and adapt as things go. Especially if you think the seizures are food related.

The protein thing has me skeptical, I am of the *opinion* that for otherwise healthy dogs, there is no such thing as to much protein *as long as it's animal based*. I think we do much more damage by lowering protein levels for no real good reason.

Lew Olson's book "Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs" is an excellent resource for all thing nutrition related. It also contains many, many pages of diets and recipes for all kinds of ailments.

Thanks for the helpful info ClantyreSheltie. I appreciate it!

My Pixie had seizures regularly as a puppy. In addition to a regimen of holistic medications prescribed by my vet, I took her off all chemical flea and tick products, limited the number of her vaccinations (we titer now before any vaccine is given) and finally, took her off food with chicken or turkey after reading a study that those meats can contribute to seizures in dogs who are prone to them.

I put Pixie on food with duck as the primary ingredient and since I did that, she has been seizure free for four years. She's 8 now, and has not had one since she was four. I feed Go Sensitivity and Shine, made by Petcurean. It has a lower protein and is an excellent food.

I hope Ginger's issues improve. Good luck!

Thanks Ann...good to know!

 

[Maureen B.]

My Pixie had seizures regularly as a puppy. In addition to a regimen of holistic medications prescribed by my vet, I took her off all chemical flea and tick products, limited the number of her vaccinations (we titer now before any vaccine is given) and finally, took her off food with chicken or turkey after reading a study that those meats can contribute to seizures in dogs who are prone to them.

I put Pixie on food with duck as the primary ingredient and since I did that, she has been seizure free for four years. She's 8 now, and has not had one since she was four. I feed Go Sensitivity and Shine, made by Petcurean. It has a lower protein and is an excellent food.

I hope Ginger's issues improve. Good luck!

Ann, how did you find a vet that takes more a holistic approach? I recently switched vets and she is supposedly more holistic but I'm not seeing it. She was quick to put ginger on meds whereas the last vet I had said they only do meds if seizures occur once a week or more.